Confederate Symbols and Media Coverage: A Look at Mississippi Newspapers Over Time

Author

Madison Elizabeth Heil, University of Mississippi. Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College

Date of Award

2017

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

Department

Journalism

First Advisor

Kathleen Wickham

Relational Format

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis was to examine how the media coverage of Confederate symbols in Mississippi has changed over time by focusing on the following events: the banning of flag sticks at the University of Mississippi athletic events in 1997, the removal of the Mississippi state flag from campus in 2015, the modification of the song Dixie at football games in 2009, and the banning of the song from athletic events in 2016. A sample of news articles featured on the front page of three different Mississippi-based newspapers were reviewed through content analysis by two trained coders for changes in story format, journalistic elements, framing, voice, and tone. The study found that the media coverage of Confederate symbols has changed over time as the media landscape continues to change.

Recommended Citation

Heil, Madison Elizabeth, "Confederate Symbols and Media Coverage: A Look at Mississippi Newspapers Over Time" (2017). Honors Theses. 614.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/614

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